What makes a successful company successful?
What are the characteristics of successful teams?
In his New York Times best-selling book “The Culture Code: The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups,” author Daniel Coyle examines organizations—ranging from internet retail giant Zappos to the elite Navy’s SEAL Team Six to the San Antonio Spurs—and finds some common threads.
But do those characteristics exist within the Utah Jazz? David Locke spent some time investigating for himself. The radio voice of the Utah Jazz sat down with nearly every player on the roster at the start of training camp to discuss “The Culture Code,” and what makes this team poised for success.
Here are a few highlights from the Locked On Jazz interviews …
What makes the Utah Jazz feel like a family?
Donovan Mitchell: “We don’t care who has 30 points, who has 20 rebounds, who plays the most, who plays the least. Georges Niang and Naz Mitrou-Long were the two best teammates I’ve ever had. They were always up cheering and celebrating and both of them got rewarded for that. That’s just a testament to the group we have because everybody’s like that. I always bring it back to Rodney Hood. For me to come in playing the same position, a little smaller, younger, a lot of guys in the NBA would get fearful of that. He was the first one to bring me in and teach me what I need to know. What Coach doesn’t like, what he does like. That’s a testament to his character. Now I want to be that with Grayson. Same position, same height, around the same age. I do the same thing because you’re willing to sacrifice for the team. That’s what we’re all about.”
How did the team come together during last season’s playoff push?
Raul Neto: It was building last year. I think Donovan’s a big part of that. He’s a great guy. He came in as a rookie, always happy, always trying to get everybody together. Joe Ingles is a great teammate. He’s always joking around. In an 82-game season, you need somebody like that that make our locker room a little happier. You’ve got Rudy who is always worried about winning, competing and always talking to people about defense. I think every small thing counts in an 82-game season. After December, that was the time we saw that family.”
The Culture Code references a study about the impact just one positive or one negative influence can have on a group. Who brings the positive energy in the Jazz locker room?
Derrick Favors: “Ricky’s one of those guys. Joe Ingles is one of those guys. It’s a whole group, but those two guys stand out because they always bring a certain type of energy.”
Jae Crowder: “D-Fav. His attitude never waivers. Play a lot of minutes, don’t play a lot of minutes. Win or lose. He’s going to wake up the next day and be motivated. He’s not going to have an attitude. He’s going to be ready for what’s next. I think it trickles down. He’s the longest-tenured guy here and he has a lot of respect in the locker room.”
Thabo Sefolosha: “There are so many. That’s the great thing about this team. We all love coming to work and it shows at practice and it shows in the game. I can go down the list and really there’s nobody that is not coming in ready to work with a positive mindset on what we’re trying to accomplish.”
In Coyle’s findings, communication—to the point of over-communication—is a common key to success.
Ekpe Udoh: “Coach Quin Snyder is definitely an over-communicator. That’s his specialty. That’s what makes him who he is and it trickles down to us. He’s always prepared. When the season starts, he’s locked into whatever we need to do to get better. He breathes basketball.”
The CEO or leader has to show some vulnerability.
Jae Crowder: “I saw [Quin Snyder] take losses and say it’s on him. I’ve been in a couple of different locker rooms where that’s not the case. It takes a certain coach, a certain person to take on a whole loss. It may not be his fault, but he’s making the team feel like it is. When you have a head coach that holds himself accountable, it makes you, it makes the best player on our team or the guy who isn’t playing at all, hold yourself accountable, too.”
Players have to feel safe enough to be vulnerable, too.
Derrick Favors: “You have to be secure with yourself first. If you’re an insecure person, you’re going to take stuff the wrong way. With me, I’m a secure person. I have a lot of confidence in myself. So I don’t mind asking Tony Bradley for advice on something. He might be good at a pivot move on the block that I’m not good at. You’ve got to be secure and know that you don’t know everything. You’ve got to ask for help sometimes. You don’t want to be the guy who thinks he knows everything.”
At one point during Coyle’s interviews, he was talking with restaurateur Daniel Meyer. During the interview, an employee dropped some dishes and the man stopped the interview. He wanted to see how his employees would react.
Raul Neto: “In basketball, it’s not a broken plate or a broken cup. It’s a bad decision one game. It’s a game we lose because somebody missed a shot. In those moments, that’s when a real team and a real family sticks together. We had those moments and we stick together. That made us better.”
Where are you now as a player? Where do you want to be? And how do you get there?
Donovan Mitchell: “I’m nowhere close to where I want to be in my career. There are a lot of obstacles to get there. I’ve gotten better. I’ve added a lot to my game. I watch a lot of Dwyane Wade and a lot of Kobe Bryant. D-Wade was in the Finals his third year and he was getting to the free throw line 10 times a game. I got to the free throw line four times a game. And Kobe, you know what he's done. If I want to get to that level, I’ve got to continue to work.”
Listen to the full interviews from Locke’s “Culture Code” series: